Lupin (was Re: Father Figures

[va32h]

No: HPFGUIDX 164782

Carol said:
Considering that he "forgot" to take his potion, endangered three
students by transforming in their presence on a full-moon night,
failed to tell Dumbledore how Sirius Black could get into the castle
even after Black had slashed up the Fat Lady's painting and terrified
Ron with a twelve-inch knife, and nearly committed murder in front of
those same three students, I'd say his judgment is fairly sound in
terms of his unsuitability to teach. (Or we could blame it all on the
DADA Curse. :-) )

va32h here:

Self-fulfilling prophecy at work? We know how much Jo loves those! 
Lupin is so convinced of his own inadequacy that he subsconsciously 
does, or allows to happen, just the sort of things that would call 
his judgement into question and bring about his dismissal. 

***on a side note, Lupin's werewolfism has been called a metaphor for 
everything under the sun, I know, but if we can liken it to say - 
schizophrenia or manic-depression, people with those conditions will 
sometimes choose to go off their meds because while they are better 
behaved when medicated, they feel stifled and deadened. 


Carol here:
Well, he did make rather a mess of things, making possible Peter
Pettigrew's escape and the Dark Lord's resurrection and all, so I can
see why he might be beating himself up a bit, not for being a
werewolf, which is not his fault, but for rushing out without his
potion and all the subsequent events. If so, he's forgetting the one
good thing his presence accomplished, giving Sirius Black a chance to 
tell his story without first murdering Scabbers and terrifying HRH,
none of whom would have believed him without Lupin's commonsense
suggesting of turning him into a man first and proving the truth of
Black's seemingly preposterous story. Still, in light of what actually
did happen (and possibly the death of Sirius Black after all Lupin
went through to prove him innocent to HRH), I can see why he'd be
unhappy with himself. If only he'd just explained everything to
Dumbledore in the first place. DD would have talked to Black, found
out about Scabbers, had Pettigrew arrested, and Voldie would still be
vapor. 

va32h here:

Harry has these exact same feelings - he's made everything worse. But 
Dumbledore tells him that the consequences of our actions are so 
unpredictable and divers that it is impossible to predict them, and 
even more pointless to dwell on them or blame ourselves. 

Harry and Lupin both had a hand in setting Pettigrew free, but it was 
Pettigrew who made the choice to go and seek out Voldemort, to give 
him aid. Pettigrew who continued to make the choice to aid Voldemort 
when he could have allowed Vapormort to languish forever. 

Sounds like Dumbledore should have given Lupin this pep talk as well 
as Harry. And perhaps he did. Lupin strikes me as someone who is 
determined to be a bit of a martyr, and there really is no reasoning 
with people like that. 

Carol here:
Makes him sound a bit like Peter Pettigrew, who is too lazy to kill
Harry or take any action unless there's something in it for him, like
saving his skin. I don't think Lupin fails to be a father figure to
Harry because it's too dangerous. Too weak or too passive I'll buy.
He's very secretive and doesn't like self-exposure, and he never talks
to Harry about the past except in general terms, excusing James's
behavior and so on. Maybe he's afraid to get close to Harry because
talking about the past would reveal his own weaknesses. (I don't think
Lupin sees James in him as Snape and Black do, but he could be afraid
of emotional attachment for fear of losing him. Or he could just
realize that it's inappropriate for a teacher to become emotionally
attached to a student and that the Boy Who Lived should be treated
like any other student as far as possible, anti-Dementor lessons
excepted.)

va32h here:

But Harry has not been Lupin's student for over two years by the time 
of HBP, so I don't think the "inappropriate relationship" is a valid 
excuse, if that is Lupin's excuse. 

Carol here:
Here, I agree with you. But it's also interesting that he takes the
lead in blaming Snape and finding reasons to think that he's evil
after Harry presents his incomplete version of the events on the
tower.

va32h here:

Yes, that bothered  me - how does one go to "I trust Dumbledore 
completely therefore I trust Snape" to "Dumbledore was fooled all 
along and Snape is evil" so quickly, and on the word of Harry, who 
they all know is prone to snap judgements. But that is one scene in 
which I think nearly everyone is behaving out of character, so don't 
even get me started on that!

va32h